Team Retreat is Fun, Benefits the Community

On Thursday, June 5, more than 30 staff from the Family Services Department took time out of their busy schedules to volunteer at the Hunger Task Force Farm and Fish Hatchery in Franklin as part of a team retreat. Due to the rainy weather the day before, staff were not able to work in the crop fields and plant seeds or pull weeds, which many were expecting to do! But, instead, the group was able to work together as one large team in an effort to help remove the garlic mustard (this is an invasive herb) from the oak savanna area (wooded area). Although this activity was a lot of work and required many folks to sweat and get tans lines, the group had a wonderful time working and laughing together! Many of the staff told me it was a great opportunity to reconnect with co-workers they haven’t seen in a while as well as a fun way to get to know the new staff who recently have joined our department.

A little history on the reason why we chose this volunteer activity (and this cause): In November of 2012, the Family Services Department spent some time with the Hunger Task force doing some food sorting and sending mailings to donors. Staff have been requesting another activity like this in order to bring us together outside of the office while giving back to the community. Overall, the day was perfect and we couldn’t have asked for better weather (75 and sunny), and, honestly, a better group of folks to pull garlic mustard with!

For those of you who don’t know much about the Hunger Task Force Farm and Fish Hatchery, here is some additional information and a link to the website: